Wheelchairs are used to move patients within hospitals and nursing homes. Current wheelchairs are constructed with a seat and seat back supported on a rectangular frame with large rear wheels and small front wheels which may swivel. Typically a brake mechanism is employed with each back wheel to prevent its rotation when the patient is to be removed from the wheelchair. When a patient who is seated in a wheelchair is to be moved to a stationary chair or a bed, an attendant must stand in front of the patient to lift the patient to assist the patient in leaving the wheelchair. The attendant must reach forward and grasp the arms or body of the patient to lift the patient from the wheelchair even when the patient can assist by standing. The lifting activity must be performed while the attendant is in a weakened position, leaning forward and bending down, and this frequently contributes to back injuries of the attendant.
The present invention is an improved wheelchair for transporting patients, especially elderly and feeble patients living in nursing homes where movement of patients to and from wheelchairs is a frequent occurrence. The improved wheelchair of the present invention provides an ergonomic improvement in the job responsibilities of the attendant who must assist the debilitated patient in moving from the wheelchair to another position. Hence it is an object of the invention to provide a wheelchair which reduces the risk of back injury to the attendant assisting the patient in leaving the wheelchair.
The wheelchair is provided with a main frame supported on four generally equally sized wheels, the rear two of which are pivotable on a vertical axis in the typical fashion. A seat supporting frame on which the seat of the wheelchair is supported is carried within the main frame. The seat supporting frame is hinged along its front-to-back length such that the rear end of the seat can be raised when the patient is to exit the wheelchair. As the rear end of the seat rises, the front end of the seat lowers. This operation is effected by use of an operating lever which turns a transverse bar to which a seatlift lever is radially attached. The seatlift lever is connected to a link which forces the rear of the wheelchair seat upward. A lifting mechanism which raises the rear of the wheelchair frame is also operable when the operating lever is actuated. This lifting mechanism causes a foot to be lowered below the rear of the wheelchair frame and forced against the floor surface on which the wheelchair is stationed. This operation also causes the rear wheels of the wheelchair to be lifted off the floor surface, thereby also elevating the patient""s body within the wheelchair while immobilizing the wheelchair. The foot is fixed to the lower end of a generally vertical stake which is guided by a bushing it passes through, the bushing being held stationary relative to the chair by its mounting to a cross bar mounted at its ends to the wheelchair""s main frame. The stake is forced downward by a linking arm which rotates with the rotatable transverse bar to which the operating lever is fixed. Hence, pulling the operating lever toward the front of the wheelchair causes the rear of the wheelchair frame to elevate off the floor surface while also causing the seat to tilt forward thereby assisting the patient toward a standing position. With the patient partly elevated, an attendant need not stoop forward to help in lifting and guiding the patient from the wheelchair.
In an alternate embodiment, the wheelchair may include a rider operated lever so that the occupant of the chair can activate the lift mechanism. In another embodiment, the lift mechanism may be operated by a person behind the chair by use of a rearward moving lever.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved wheelchair which selectively lifts a patient seated in the wheelchair part way to a standing position.
It is another object of the invention to provide a wheelchair which may be immobilized while a patient is being removed from the chair.
It is further an object of the invention to provide an improved wheelchair which reduces the risk of back injury to an attendant assisting a patient in exiting the wheelchair.
These and other objects will be better understood from examination of the detailed description which follows.